Gaming
With the Red Bull Flick qualifiers now underway, some last-minute changes to your settings might help you grasp victory.
Red Bull Flick has returned for 2021 and if you want to put on a competitive showing and perform against the very best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players, making sure you're at least on an even playing field before jumping into games is important.
Maybe you have a mouse and keyboard that you love, or a specific monitor that helps hit those headshots when it matters the most. None of these things matter, though, if you don't have the exact settings for the game. You don't want to be one step behind your opponents before you've even picked up a controller.
With Red Bull Flick's international online qualifiers underway, if you need an extra boost to your performance, or if you're not quite sure which settings to use, then we've got you covered. We've asked players from ENCE, Team Spirit and Furia about why they use certain in-game settings and how it helps win them games. Maybe some of these tips will help you perform better – and clutch a spot in the Red Bull Flick finals.
4:3 or 16:9
CS:GO is one of the only games where having a different aspect ratio has a big impact on the in-game graphics. A lot of older pros use 4:3 – especially those who come from CS 1.6. ENCE's In-game Leader Marco 'Snappi' Pfeiffer says that it’s all about personal preference: "If you use 4:3 the models appear bigger on the screen. However, you'll lose some vision that you have in 16:10 or 16:9."
He goes on to explain that at the pro level, seeing more on the side of your screen doesn't really make a difference, since you'll need to move your crosshair before shooting – and in most cases, you'll be dead before you make that move.
Abdulkhalik 'degster' Gasanov of Team Spirit, adds: "Using 4:3, player models are wider, but they move faster. With 16:9, they are slimmer, but move slower. It's a matter of preference, every person chooses what’s more comfortable for them."
What we can conclude from this is that neither option is superior – it all comes down to what you're used to. Suddenly changing the aspect ratio will only mess with your aim and since there's no obvious benefit to gain there, it's best to leave the aspect ratio alone.
Angling your keyboard
If you've ever watched a professional CS:GO tournament, you might have noticed something peculiar about the way that some pros position their keyboard. When you're typing, you generally have the keyboard horizontally in front of you, but some CS:GO players like to angle their keyboards at a 45 degrees. Snappi says that during 1.6 LAN's there was never enough space, so fitting all five players in as little space as possible was necessary, which is why he angles his keyboard.
Other pros seem to agree and it's become a habit. There's no real logical reason for it anymore – now there's enough space for players to set up their keyboards in whichever way they want during big LAN tournaments. However, since they're so used to playing with their keyboards at an angle, they see no reason to change it. The lesson to learn is that being as comfortable as you can possibly be during a tournament helps with success and performance – it lowers your stress on the outside factors, so that you can fully concentrate on the game itself.
The mouse sensitivity debate
Good aim is one of the most important attributes a professional CS:GO player needs to have – it's a shooter, after all. Having the correct mouse sensitivity gives those players that desired aim.
Team Spirit's Boris 'magixx' Vorobiev prefers to have a lower sensitivity, because "it makes my aim more consistent." He also notes that having a higher sensitivity might help to turn away from flashes easier. Team Furia's Yuri 'yuurih' Santos likes the sensitivity to be a bit higher; he plays at 2.5 with 400 DPI and notes that you don't have to move your arms as much with higher sensitivity.
The general consensus between the pros is that while mouse sensitivity is a heated topic, having a high enough sensitivity to move away quickly from flashes, but low enough to be able to make headshots with weapons is the way forward. Many players practice for years to get their sensitivity low enough so that they can hit those precise shots, so keep practising.
Keybindings
While CS:GO isn't the most APM-heavy game there is, it's still important to use correct keybindings in order to be as effective as possible in the midst of a gunfight. Snappi has specific keybindings for his grenades, for example. "I use C for flash, T for smoke, V for Molotov and n for smoke jump bind," he explains. "I also switch between left and right eye on my mouse4 and mouse5."
Team Spirit's Victor 'somedieyoung' Orudzhev uses the spacebar for ducking. "Ducking in CS:GO is very important, so such a big key works well for me," he adds. And while most players use the numbers above the letters on their keyboard to buy the items at the beginning of the round, Team Furia's Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato prefers using the numpad.
If any of the settings above may sound like they'll improve your gameplay, make sure to practice with it before your official qualifier. It's important to note that changing a setting definitely has an impact on gameplay and it will take some time to get used to.
If you still haven't signed up yet for the Red Bull Flick qualifiers, grab a friend and sign up now. Who knows, we might see you at the finals in Helsinki, Finland on November 20–21.
